Robert Oster Reds – Swatch Test

Claudia Astorquiza of Bauer Inks has very kindly sent me a rather large haul of ink samples to test. The tests are now complete and ready for viewing:

For those of you who follow my project, Robert Oster is a favourite of mine and you can find other swatch tests of his inks on this blog. I have been sent 16 of his inks to test and here are four rather lovely reds including a rather special red – Astorquiza Rot.

Australian Shiraz – Beautiful, gorgeous, stunning – really looking forward to painting with this. Great reaction with bleach and subtle chromatography at the edges with salmon pinks and whisps of blue grey. Deep glossy sheen in evidence.

Maroon 1789 – Great reaction with bleach and subtle chromatography at the edges with salmon pinks and whips of blue grey. What a colour!

Astorquiza Rot – Named after Claudia who kept bugging Rob for a darker “blood type” red. Quote Claudia – “We worked on it, I enjoy those “dry blood” types (I am a big fan of murder mysteries.. lol). Rob named it after me, and it’s fun to see the description at Goulet’s (from Goulet “A deep red, it is named after Claudia Astorquiza who introduced Robert Oster inks internationally, and “rot” is German for red.” Great reaction with bleach too.

Crimson – Arguably the weaker of the four but still a great ink, blending with water and a reaction with bleach. Evidence of a sheen too.

Four very strong inks, and all great writing inks by the way, and if you like these, there’s more to come! Stay tuned!

Buy my artwork: I have finally given into pressure and opened an ETSY shop. If you’d like to buy any of the original art featured on my site you can purchase it here. I will do my upmost to add value to your investment over time – click here to access the shop . I am also accepting commissions for swatch tests. So, if you have a favourite ink(s) and some words for someone special, or maybe just for yourself, drop me a line and we can discuss further.

If you’d like to know more about this project, please take a look at the Mission Statement.

All tests on Bockingford 200lb watercolour paper using a dip pen with titanium zebra G flex nib for the bleach work and a Noodler’s Ahab for the ink work.

Nick Stewart

I create art using fountain pen inks and bleach. My techniques epitomise the whole ethos of ‘less is more’ and demonstrate how much one can achieve using very little. It is also a medium that is very much serendipity led and the beauty of the final outcomes are often dictated by this.